About Us
by Laur0914
Summary: Something strange is happening at Hogwarts (even stranger than James Potter suddenly acting mature) and Lily Evans is determined to figure it out. Trouble is, with the one person she relied on the most suddenly missing, who will she turn to for help when she inevitably gets in over her head?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So I could appologize a hundred times, but it won't change the fact that I do not currently own a time-turner (yet) and I am unable to go back in time and force myself to stay dedicated to this story. Yet here I am, years later, with a new inspiration to continue this story. So yes, I DO plan on continuing this, and yes, I DO plan on finishing it. And I now also have a plan writen out for the whole story, so I have a plot line and I'm not just winging it anymore. Hopefully that will help with my comitment issues, yeah? **

**THE POINT: For previous readers of both _About Us_ and it's first-draft-I-had-no-idea-what-I-was-doing predeccesor, _Balance Beam, _please bare with both me and this story, and keep reading. For those new to About Us, welcome, and I hope I don't dissapoint!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of Jk Rowling's wonderful work. Just the plot and a few OCs****

* * *

><p>The morning air hung still and silent, as if it didn't want to believe that night was over. It was calm; no noise except for the occasional chirp of a bird or the hum of a car engine in the distance. Unfortunately this quiet couldn't last long (it never did), as it was interrupted by a piercing shriek. If one listened closely they could hear the sharp thump of several doors slamming, and whether you were listening in or not, everyone could soon hear the high-pitched tones of yelling that quickly shook the neighbourhood.<p>

This yelling was centred in a white picket-fence house, a solid two stories with a blooming flowerbed on the wrap-around porch that surrounded the house. It was, overall, the picture perfect _normal_ household. If not for the constant shouting that happened in said house, it would be the type of place where people would look at and say, "Now there's a house where everything's perfectly normal." However, as mentioned before, the screaming seeping through the walls somewhat ruined this perfect image.

The neighbours who had come to their windows to investigate, simply would shake their heads, close their blinds, and return to their respective rooms. It was, they would say matter-of-factually, just those _Evans girls _again_._ And that would be that.

* * *

><p>Lily Evans jolted awake, the echoes of the crash that had woken her still ringing in her ears. She rolled her eyes and pushed her dark red mess of hair out of her face: even in her half-awake state, she knew exactly what was happening.<p>

"Three, two, one," she whispered, dragging her body upwards and into what could be passed as a sitting position and with seemingly perfect timing, her sister Petunia Evans began to shout. Lily sat there for a moment, trying to shake off the morning haze to calculate her chances of getting to the door to lock it before her sister had time to get there. She could have, of course, used her_ wand,_ but unfortunately it wasn't within reaching distance as it usually was. It was at the moment sitting on top of the worn surface of a large russet trunk which bore a large embellished H on the front, while a scarlet lion was on the lid. So wand atop of trunk, both were currently sitting neatly in the corner of her room. The trunk had been, of course, packed and ready for days. Lily Evans was nothing if not practical.

Lily winced, getting ready for the door to be thrown open – she had waited too long. Sure enough, seconds later Petunia launched herself into the room, not bothering to knock. Not that Lily had expected her to: even when they _had _gotten along, however long ago that might have been, Petunia never knocked. She preferred to barge in, always, wanting to make a statement, Lily thought wryly.

"LILY! Can't you keep that ruddy owl-" Petunia cut of suddenly as a sharp knock could be heard from the sitting room – two sharp knocks that were loud enough to, apparently, be heard through Petunia's shrieks.

Lily groaned: her brief relief at the interruption was short-lived as she realized who must be at the door. The only person pompous enough to have such an obnoxious rap: Petunia's fiancé, Vernon Dursley.

Petunia must have had the same thought as Lily, though probably without the negatives, for with one final glare at her little sister, she dashed out of the room, her hands flying to her short brown hair in an attempt to calm it.

Lily listened in barely disguised revulsion as her sister's voice carried up the stairs into her room, followed by the somehow choked sounding tones of Vernon Dursley. Her sister's attraction to that _whale _of a bloke was beyond her. not only was his personality horrendous, but on a vanity level their appearances were polar opposites -where Petunia was all angles, Vernon Dursley was… let's just say there wasn't an angle in sight.

With a groan, Lily finally pulled her self out of her bed completely, shivering as the chilled air hit her legs. She normally had no problem with mornings-in fact, she actually _liked _mornings. She was a morning person. But she hadn't gotten much sleep that night. And not surprisingly for today was September first, and she never got sleep the night before the first anyways. Today was the day she was supposed to go back to school. Back to what was in some ways, more of a home than she'd ever previously experienced.

With the thought of returning to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry now in her mind she felt a burst of energy as a smile lit her face and she skipped over to the joint loo that connected to Petunia's room. Which was a bother, considering how long Petunia could take in there each morning. Lily herself could go through her regular morning routine in under ten minutes, shower included. Her best friend Dale joked that she was an abnormality as a girl because of this. In her own defence though, she thought, what was there really to do? She didn't wear any makeup: she didn't needed to, her bright green eyes stood out enough without any added help. So all really left was to take a shower, then brush her teeth and hair. Brushing her hair was actually what usually took her the _longest_. It was a dark red, wavy with a few lingering loose curls, and impossibly thick. With hair like hers, excessive conditioner was always a must.

Lily scowled for a moment at her reflection in the mirror, glaring at the numerous freckles scattered over her face. If possible, it seemed the summer sun had multiplied them. In truth, she didn't think she was all that pretty. Not ugly, of course, just not pretty. What she didn't know however, was about all the boys at Hogwarts who thought differently, and would have told her just that in a heartbeat if they weren't scared of what James Potter would do to them if he caught them flirting, or even talking, with Lily. But, that said, they were too scared, so she was never told. Except by James himself, but since when had she ever listened to anything _he_ said?

Just as she was leaving the bathroom, she heard her mother's voice float up the stairs, her father's following soon after.

"Lily! Lily dear we need to leave! You're going to be late! Oh, what if you miss the train! What would we do? Lily! Lily? Lily, are you listening to me?"

"Lils? Hon, we should probably go. Your mother is freaking out down here… don't want her to panic, yeah?" This statement was followed by a muffled grunt of pain with distinctly female laughter following. Lily chuckled at her parents' behaviour as she headed towards the door. Her father acted more child-like than she did at times.

Still smiling she grabbed her wand off of her trunk and muttered a quick _wingardium leviosa_ under her breath, causing her luggage to float obediently several inches above the ground. She came down the stairs just in time to see her father rubbing a red blotch on his arm, casting sidelong looks at her mother, who was holding a plastic spoon, obviously the offending item, and laughing merrily at him.

"Lily-pop!" her dad exclaimed, noting her entrance into the kitchen. "Ready to go then? You moth – what I mean to say, is we, we were starting to worry!" he stumbled out, casting a quick glance at her mother, checking to see if she had noticed his error.

Apparently she hadn't, because she paid him no mind as she began to fuss over Lily.

"What are we going to do about breakfast for you? You can't just skip it! But then you can't miss the train! What time does it leave? Have you seen my keys? We have to go! But what about breakfast…."

"Mum! Mum, slow down. I can eat on the train, which leaves at eleven. Just like the past 6 years. It hasn't changed. You're keys are on top of the cabinet, and I'm good to leave now, if you and dad are ready…?" Lily replied calmly, eyebrows raised awaiting a response.

"That's my Lily-pop!" Mr. Evans exclaimed jovially, breaking the silence. "Always the voice of reason. I told you she was the smart one!" he glanced around, realizing what he had said. "Err… not that you aren't smart though! I only meant…."

"Quit while you're ahead, dear," Mrs. Evans replied finally composed as she smirked up at him briefly. "Now lets go, we have to get Lily to the station."

* * *

><p>Forty-five minutes, several more rants about breakfast, and two teary goodbyes later, Lily was finally waving goodbye to her parents as she walked towards platform 9 ¾ and through the bricked wall.<p>

She looked up at the scarlet steam engine in front of her, and she felt an odd tightening in her stomach. This was her last year. Her last beginning-of-school train ride. The whistle blew shrilly then, reminding her that it was almost eleven. The train left on the dot whether you were onboard or not. So she climbed on quickly, not wanting to be left behind. She started pulling her trunk down the long corridor, heading towards the usual compartment she shared with her best friends, Marlene McKinnon, Cassie Daniels, and Daleena Markwood (but good luck to the poor soul who called her Daleena instead of her preferred Dale).

Looking around, Lily found herself in an unrecognizable section of the train. Great, she thought wryly, I got on at the opposite end of the train. Her compartment was all the way down on the other end.

"Need some help there Evans?" She felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle and she looked up to see a horribly familiar figure standing in front of her, gesturing to the heavy trunk she was pulling. A horribly _tall_ figure, she added on, lifting her head up in order to look at him properly.

James Potter. She scowled. Here we go again, she thought. I haven't even made it to my compartment and he's already started!

"Out of my way Potter," she ground out. This was _not_ how she wanted to start off her 7th year. She glared up at him, trying to put as much annoyance in the look as she could. Looking at him though, she couldn't help but notice, as much as she hated to admit it, he had grown out more over the summer. He had messy black hair, sticking up in all directions, which of course he loved. He was always messing it up, trying to get that 'just stepped off a broomstick' look. He also had glasses, which actually worked for him, and a reasonably well defined face. His obvious muscles from years of quidditch didn't hurt his general appearance either. Overall, Lily thought sourly, he was very attractive…. If it wasn't for him being an arrogant toe rag, that is.

"I'm just offering my services, do I need to bring a woven flag?" He exclaimed, holding his hands up in mock surrender, a smirk starting to form on his lips.

,

"It's a _white _flag Potter," Lily fumed," And it wouldn't matter if you did! You're in my way!"

"Well if you let me help you, I'd be out of your way in a jiffy." Yes, there was defiantly a grin on his face now.

"No!"

"Blimey Evans, just let me help…"

"You can help me by going away!"

A look of hurt flashed across his face, but was gone so fast that Lily wasn't even sure she'd seen it in the first place. Of course that wasn't it, she thought uneasily. This was Potter. This whole thing was just a game to him.

"I guess I'll see you later then Evans." He said after a while. He turned around and started walking away, leaving a shocked Lily behind him. Again, this was Potter! She thought incredulously. Since when did he actually _listen?_

"Oh, and Evans," he turned his head, calling over his shoulder. "Nice to see you too."

If Lily was shocked before, it was nothing to what she felt now. Where was the inappropriate comment, followed instantly with him asking her out? The arrogant smirk that never seemed to leave his face? He actually seemed… well…. decent, she thought in amazement. But no, perhaps it was just a weird day. It would only be a matter of time before he was back to his usual, annoying self. There was no way, she thought bitterly, that James Potter could have changed.


	2. Chapter 2

Shaking off her lingering feeling of uncertainty, Lily continued down the train corridor, eventually coming to a stop in front of her compartment. She stopped outside, hand on the door, frowning slightly. The compartment doors were glass, therefore, you could see into the compartment. And from what Lily could see in hers, it was empty. With a feeling of uneasiness, she slid open the door slowly and glanced around, confirming what she already knew; no one was there. The compartment wasn't completely empty however. There was a miniature owl, a tiny little thing really. It was perched on one of the seats, gazing up at her expectantly, its left foot outstretched.

Recognizing it as Dale's, Lily reached down and quickly untied the letter attached to its foot. Her name was written on the envelope in the sloppy handwriting she knew to be her friend's.

"This is getting a bit weird," she muttered to herself, and she looked back down, only to see the owl was gone. "Alright, very weird," she amended quietly. It wasn't so much the disappearing owl that was odd. She was a witch, after all. She was used to things magically appearing or disappearing. But owls usually didn't leave right away, unless they were given specific instructions to. They usually would stick around, in hopes of an owl treat, or time to rest, depending on how far they had come. Well, whatever the reason, she thought, there's no point stressing over it. She'd seen weirder in this world after all.

She turned her attention back to the tiny envelope in her hand. With a growing sense of dread and a quick tear she had it ripped open in seconds. Her eyes scanned the paper quickly, getting wider with each word.

_Lily,_

_Firstly, this has to be short, and I'm sorry for that. I don't have much time to write. I wasn't even supposed to write anyone in the first place. So, that said, I'll just get right to it. A month into summer break my parent's were approached by Death Eaters. They turned them down, of course, but you know as well as anyone that the Voldemort situation is getting worse by every day. They both reckon that they'll be back, and not so forgiving when turned down a second time. So we're leaving, going into hiding, a prolonged vacation, whatever you want to call it, I won't be there for the school year. I don't know when we'll be back. _

_Can you pass this along to Cassie and Marlene for me? I can't stand to write this out again. Once is more than enough. Also… Sirius. Tell him that I'm sorry… Merlin, that was hard to write. I hope he'll understand._

_I miss you, and congratulations on getting head girl: I knew you would. It's what you've been dreaming of getting for years Lily. So be happy. Don't worry about me._

_Love Always,_

_ Dale_

She stared at the letter a second more before tucking it into her pocket. Dale was right: the letter was brief. Especially compared to the notes the two usually owled each other over break. They sometimes stretched out over multiple pages.

Lily felt her stomach dropping out. Dale was gone? She couldn't quite grasp it. She knew that the Death Eater situation was getting bad, but she didn't know they were so blatantly recruiting. She turned to her side, intent to start discussing it with Marlene and Cassie, only to remember they weren't there either. The knot of worry that had formed inside her stomach after reading the letter tightened. The note explained Dale's absence, but what about the other two?

Putting more thought into in, Lily finally came to the conclusion that she had no reasonable explanation for the pair of girls' absence. And she doubted that it was for the same reason as Dale. While Cassie was admittedly a pureblood, her family was so blatantly on Dumbledore's side, there was no way Voldemort thought that they would join him. And Marlene was a half-blood, therefore not someone he would want, but not necessarily have a particular problem with. And so Lily, being the intelligent witch she was (and with great reluctance), decided there was no logical answer, and she would just have to wait it out. If I don't see them until tonight, she thought, I'll speak with McGonagall.

And the last part… Sirius… that was one conversation she wasn't looking forward to, and she felt her heart tighten in sympathy. Sirius had been known as the Hogwarts play boy for years. It had been Dale who finally gotten him to settle down, and they had been dating for the better part of a year. She'd find a way to tell him before they got to Hogwarts, and he found out the hard way, she decided. She wasn't about to let him find out by hearing a couple of third years gossiping about it. Since his involvement with Dale, the she and him had formed somewhat of a friendship. That is, she considered him sort of like a brother, and vice-versa. A brother who she wanted to hex much of the time for the stunts he and Potter pulled.

With that decision set in her mind, Lily stood up and took a deep breath, smoothing the frown off of her face. She made head girl this year. Dale was right. She should be happy. She _would _be happy as soon as she found out where Cassie and Marlene were. Dale wasn't here, and there was nothing she could do about it. She knew that. Besides, she had said she might not miss the whole year, right? So she straightened out her shoulders, absently rubbing a stray tear from her watering eyes. She wasn't going to cry about this. Yes, she was on her way to Hogwarts for her last year. Alone. But she was going to be _happy_. Just like Dale wanted. She rolled her eyes as she looked around her empty compartment. This was going to be harder than she thought.

Half an hour later of sitting alone in her compartment and she realized with relief that it was almost time for the prefects meeting. She got up quickly, grateful to have something to do. On her way to the slightly larger-than-regular prefect compartment, she wondered idly who the new head boy was. McGonagall hadn't mention who it was, only that she would be sharing a dorm with whoever it was. Just another perk of being head boy or girl: you get your own dorm, complete with your own common room.

She supposed it could be Remus. But, she amended, it was unlikely. It's not that she didn't like him. The opposite actually. They got along quite well, both being the more studious of the Gryffindor 7th years. It was just that he didn't do anything to stop his friends from causing trouble, and they would often use him as an excuse to get out of punishment, leaving her doubting his leadership skills.

So no, Lily thought, it probably wasn't Remus. He was usually a good prefect, but head boy would be too much power… not for him, but for Potter and Black. Maybe it was the Ravenclaw prefect, she thought. Cale Windington. She shuddered at the thought. She hoped it wasn't him. He was…. sleazy. Sure, he put on an act for the teachers and headmaster, but as soon as their backs were turned, he would be grabbing some random girls' butt. He'd tried it on Lily several times before and needless to say, he spent several days in the hospital wing. Not that he ever got the message though.

Well, I guess I'm about to find out, Lily thought, finally having reached the compartment. She took a deep breath, composing herself. Focus on the meeting now. I'm head girl. I can do this. And so, with a bright, fake smile plastered on her face, she stepped into the compartment.

Heads automatically turned in her direction, as murmurs of 'head girl' swirled around. She was also greeted by quite a few friendly smiles: while she might not be friends with many of them, she was on friendly terms with most of Hogwarts. The exceptions of course, would be the students now glaring at her, the Slytherin prefects. She turned quickly away from them; she really was in no mood to get into a fight with them about her 'blood status' again. She did a quick head count and glanced at everyone's badges. Everyone was here from last year, including the new 5th years, yet they all had prefect badges. No head boy.

They wouldn't just not assign one, would they? Lily thought worriedly, quickly counting again. Yes, she wanted to be head girl, but she knew it was a lot of work. A lot of hard work, during NEWT year too. And if she was going to be honest with herself, she knew she needed the help of a head boy with this.

Mellie Simpson, a relatively shy girl with brown hair and blue eyes, a Gryffindor and in Lily's year, spoke up.

"Hi Lily. Uhm, McGonagall wanted me to tell you that since you're head girl, I'm going to be the new Gryffindor prefect… congratulations on that, by the way, I knew you'd get it." She finished with a smile that Lily returned.

"Hey Lily," she turned to see Remus Lupin grinning up at her, stretched across one of the seats next to Mellie. "Good summer then?"

She smiled. "Pretty boring actually. Just wedding plans for my sister," Lily replied, scrunching up her nose. "Yourself?"

He shrugged, his face darkening for a moment before it returned to the smile worn previously. "Same as usual. I stayed at James' for a couple weeks," he said, ignoring Lily's grimace at James' name. "That's pretty much it. So, sitting through your sister's wedding planning? Sounds brutal," he laughed at the end, obviously remembering everything Lily had told him about her sister.

"Trust me, it was." She looked around the room again, but still, no head boy. Well, she thought, irritated, there's no point waiting for this mysterious head boy to get here. She could just start the meeting, and he'd catch up when he finally decides to show up.

"Alright, since the head boy decided not to show up on time," Lily started, slightly louder so everyone knew she was addressing them. The room quieted almost immediately, but not because she had started talking like she hoped. She stopped talking once she noticed no one was listening, instead she saw that most of them were looking over her shoulder with wide eyes. She also saw that Remus was trying, and failing, to hold back laughter. She decided to ignore it. It was probably just some second year making faces outside the compartment. She inwardly rolled her eyes. The second years always seemed to think they ruled the school just because they were no longer in first year. "We can just start without him," she continued, narrowing her eyes at the chuckles that followed her statement. Something was going on. "Speaking of which, does anyone know who….?" She trailed off, leaving the question in the air. Maybe one of them would know who the head boy was.

It was Remus who answered. "Um, Lily?" he stopped, glancing around at everyone who were now laughing outright. He gestured behind her.

She turned on her heel quickly, only to find her self face to face with none other than James Potter.

Her mouth dropped open. She couldn't help it. There was no way. No. Freaking. Way. But sure enough, there pinned on the front of his robes almost exactly as hers was, a shiny head boy badge.

"Please tell me this is another one of your jokes," she demanded quietly, putting as much venom in the words as possible. She was very much aware of the prefects behind her, none of them even bothering to hide the fact that they were eavesdropping.

His mouth twisted up into a wry smile. "Nice to see you too Evans." He said, raising up his eyebrows. "It's not a joke! I was just as surprised as you are, trust me," he quickly said, recognizing the fire beginning to build behind her eyes.

He should, he's seen it enough, she thought smugly. It was good, she reckoned, that his brain, however small it might be, allowed him to learn at least that much.

"Lets just get through this meeting, and then we can discuss it? I don't think you really want this lot listening in," he said, gesturing to the prefects behind her, a few of them blushing at been caught, while others, namely Slytherins, stared unabashed.

Lily was speechless. And that didn't happen often. Was Potter being…. responsible? There's no way, she protested again, although it was weaker than before. He probably just doesn't want to get hexed in front of so many people.

"Errr… Lily? The meeting?" James prompted, looking at her as if worried for her mental health. She didn't blame him. She had been just standing there staring at him in what she would accurately describe as horror for a long time, lost in thought.

"Yeah… right. The meeting. We'll talk after," she said, giving him a sharp look, leaving no room for argument. He looked rather relieved, and she had to fight back a smirk. She turned her back on him to look at the prefects, all of them had stopped laughing, except for Remus of course from whom a chuckle could be heard escaping every now and then, despite the kick that James had sent his way.

The meeting went quickly: Lily admitted she probably rushed through it a bit. As little as she wanted to spend time with Potter, she wanted to know just how he got to be head boy. Especially since he hadn't even been a prefect.

Even more surprising though, was Potter himself. He actually contributed to the meeting, which was something she wasn't expecting. Lily obviously did most of the talking herself, but at least he wasn't laughing at her, or making jokes out of what she was saying, like she expected him to be. And he did have several instructions for the prefects that she had forgotten. She felt rather like she was having an out-of-body experience. Because there was no way this could be real.

"Okay everyone, you know when your rounds are, and don't forget to patrol the corridors here on the train too. You don't have to do too much of that though, just walk up and down the hall a couple times and you'll be good. Any questions?" Lily finished, looking around expectantly. No one spoke up, so she continued on. "Okay you're all good to go now. And I _will_ know if you don't do your weekly rounds," she tacked on, sending them all a warning glance.

That got a couple chuckles from some of the older students, and a couple scared looks from the new fifth year prefects. Needless to say, they got out of the compartment rather quickly. As soon as the last one was out the door (Remus, who had lingered, she suspected to try and distract her from killing James), she turned on Potter immediately.

"Talk Potter. How. How, could this happen." Lily accused, glaring at him. "What did you do?"

He widened his eyes and put on an innocent expression. An expression that Lily had learned very quickly not to trust. Seeing she wasn't buying it, and still glaring at him, he gave up and changed his face to look slightly apologetic.

"Honestly Lily, I had nothing to do with this. Do you really think I would want to be head boy?" he laughed. "I happen to agree with your assumption that I'm pretty much the opposite of a model head boy." Lily opened her mouth to reply, but was cut of. "Wait a minute. Just listen. Regardless of that, I didn't do so bad in there, right? Okay, well in the… spirit of co-heads, can't we just get along this year? Please? Truce?" he asked, holding his hand out.

Lily eyed him suspiciously. Her first thought was a loud and resounding NO, that this was all a joke, but… but she couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't. The expression on his face was too… honest, for this all to be a prank. It was one that she rarely saw on his face, and it made her rethink.

"No more asking me out?" she asked slowly

"Not unless you want me to."

She rolled her eyes. "No more getting _other _people to ask me out for you?"

"That was tone time! And no again, not unless you don't want me to."

"Don't hold your breath"

"Ouch," he brought a hand dramatically over his heart. "Seriously though. Friends?"

Lily considered it. Friends… with James Potter? that was something she wouldn't have expected. Honestly though, she was tired of the ongoing fighting between them. Besides, if she agreed to this, he said he'd stop bugging her. Just the thought of that threatened to bring a smile to her lips.

"Okay. Friends, Potter. Only if you keep your end of the deal."

A strange look crossed his face, but it was gone before she could tell what it was. Instead, it was replaced with a broad grin as he slung his arm around her shoulders.

"Excellent! Well, now that that's settled…" he trailed off, leading her out of the compartment and down the hallway. He came to a stop outside her own compartment, and she wondered vaguely how he knew which one it was.

Catching her confused looked, he shrugged, a slight pink tinge to his ears. "You sat in the same compartment for 7 years, it wasn't that hard to figure out," he mumbled, his hand raising to run through his hair.

Not knowing what to say to his admission, she stepped into the compartment, instead focusing on trying not to smack his hand out of his hair. She hated when he did that.

He glanced inside after her, his brow furrowing. "Where's your friends?" he asked, noticing the empty compartment in confusion.,

Lily's stomach twisted. With the news that Potter was head boy, she had forgotten about Dale. "They're not here. At least, not until later probably, I don't really know when. It could be anytime really, I mean," she shut up suddenly, very aware that she had been babbling.

James, thankfully, didn't seem to notice. He was looking at her thoughtfully, and she squirmed under his intense gaze. "So you were just going to sit alone?"

She shrugged, suddenly embarrassed. Because yes, for the rest of the train ride she had been planning on sitting alone.

James shook his head and clucked his tongue. "Well, we can't have that now, can we? C'mon," he said, holding out his arm to her.

Lily eyed the arm in question untrustingly, suspicious at once. "Where are we going?" she asked slowly, still not moving forward to take his arm.

He sighed. "Just to my compartment Lily. You can sit with us. We have to start somewhere, right?" Seeing she was about to deny his offer, he took her arm himself and started pulling her down the corridor. "It has to be better than just sitting alone. C'mon."

She allowed herself to be led down the hallway, but not before she had tugged her arm back out of his grasp, uncomfortable with the way her skin was tingling where his hand had lain. She wondered vaguely what she had gotten herself into. It seemed that being friends with James Potter was actually going to include spending time with him. Shame.

She took a deep breath and told herself to suck it up. She looked up to see James looking down at her, his eyebrows drawing together. When did he get so tall, she wondered, distracted.

"You all right? You don't have to if you really don't want…"

"I'm fine, Potter. We're here, aren't we?" she said, surprising herself. But really, if she were honest with herself, she almost liked that he worried about her. No, NO, she thought. He wasn't worried. He just didn't want to be embarrassed in front of his friends, she scolded herself. That's it. Nothing more.

And she wasn't going to chicken out. She was in Gryffindor, wasn't she? And they _had_ called a truce, so maybe it would be tolerable. The thought of her and _James Potter _being friends was strange. Absurd even. But in some weird turn of events (and the fact that he hadn't tried to grope her yet helped too) they were. Or they were going to try to be.

"James," he said quietly, surprising her out of her thoughts.

She looked at him oddly. Was he just now learning his name? She knew he was thick, but surely not that thick…

He must have seen the confused look on her face, because after only a moment's pause he elaborated. "You can call me James. We're friends now, aren't we?"

Lily stared at him. She was almost getting used to being surprised by him today. Almost. She honestly didn't know it bothered him so much that she called him Potter. He called her Evans, didn't he? Well… actually, he hadn't been calling her that so much lately. Sure, he did some but looking back she definitely remembered him calling her Lily just about as much.

"For now," She said, "It's still Potter." She looked away quickly, trying to forget the sad look that had flashed across his face.

"Have you…" she trailed off, looking up at him, wondering how to ask what she wanted to know.

"Have I what?" he asked softly, gazing down at her with an intensity she'd never seen before in his hazel eyes.

"Have you…" she stopped again. She hated how insecure he was making her! She was never like this. She never had any trouble saying whatever came to her mind, especially around him. She wasn't the kind of person to be scared to say something, she was in Gryffindor for Merlin's sake! But there was just something about his sudden change in personality that made her hesitant. Not that she was about to let her guard down. No matter how much he's said he's changed, Lily thought, he was still Potter and this sudden maturity of his could disappear as quickly as it had come.

" You've already said that," he replied, grinning cheekily. His face then went from joking to serious. "Lily… you can tell me. Please."

Why he was acting like this and what had caused it were just two of the many questions swirling her mind. Would it last? –Doubtful. Was this all some elaborate prank? –Probable. After all, how could she go from hating him, to being his 'friend' so quickly? She knew she was a relatively forgiving person, but Potter had always been an exception to that.

Whatever the answers she thought, he's not going to truthfully answer. Of course he's going to say he has. Why wouldn't he say that? It's all probably part of his game, she thought bitterly. Because that's what she knew this was: just a game. Well since I've nothing better to do without Dale, I guess I'll play. So with that mindset, and the promise to stay as detached as possible- she shook her head, placing a fake smile back onto her face.

"Never mind. It's nothing," She said trying to ignore the sceptical look on his face.

The face that said he didn't believe her. She knew she wasn't a good liar. She'd been told so many times. But thankfully he let it go with only a shrug, then opened the compartment door, gesturing for her to go first.

She walked in cautiously and was amazed at how cluttered it was. Honestly, they had only been on the train for an hour. How much mess could four boys make in that little time? The answer, it seemed, was right in front of her.

All three boys were lounged comfortably around the compartment, seemingly unaware of the mess. They would be, she thought, it was them who had made it.

Remus Lupin was sitting on the right bench, his nose buried in a book. He was an average height as boys went, and had shaggy brown hair that kept falling into his face. While he wasn't as attractive as Sirius or James might have been, he was still a good looking bloke. He would glance up every few seconds only long enough to roll his eyes at Sirius and Peter, then return to his novel.

Peter Pettigrew, a short (yet still taller than herself), rather plump boy with a bowl cut of brown hair was lying on his stomach on the floor, examining what looked to be several boxes of Bertie-Botts-Every-Flavor-Beans that had been dumped out to form a massive pile in front of him. He was evidently trying to figure what flavour they were. Currently they were sorted into two piles, and Lily thought that he was fighting a losing battle - he had no chance at figuring it out. What could be toffee could also be wood. Or even worse: ear wax.

Sirius Black was lazily stretched out on the left side bench, quite effectively taking up all of it. His arm was behind his head; his long dark locks falling into his face, which he didn't bother to move, as his eyes were closed. While at first he might have seemed like he was sleeping, his foot was periodically kicking Peter in the back of the head, who seemed dense enough to not know that he could easily scoot over, away from Sirius's kicking feet.

They all looked up when the door opened, and all of their mouths dropped open in shock. Except for Remus of course, who only smiled knowingly.

Sirius was of course the first one to snap out of it and break the silence. He sat up, eyeing her critically. He held up his hand, right in front of her face.

"How many fingers am I holding up Evans?" He asked, eyeing James suspiciously.

"I don't need glasses, Black, that would be James," she replied testily, narrowing her eyes. She didn't even notice that she had called him James for the first time. But standing behind her, James' face split into a wide grin.

At the sound of her actually not using James' surname, Sirius' eyes grew even more alarmed.

"Answer the question Evans," He demanded.

She sighed impatiently. "Three. You're holding up three. Is that all?"

Her answer seemed to confuse him even more. Puzzled, he turned to look at Peter. "She's not confunded then…."

"Of course she's not," Remus said. "If she was, her eyes would be glazed over. But you can still clearly see her pupils."

Sirius snickered, his apparent concern for her mental health momentarily forgotten as he muttered 'nerd' under his breath, to which Remus studiously ignored.

"And besides," injected James, who had been standing in the compartment behind her. "Do you really think Lily would let anyone confund her?"

Sirius pouted. "Stop gaining up on me. Why else would she be here? It wasn't a bad question,"

"I'm still here, you know," Lily interjected, growing annoyed at been spoken about like she wasn't in the room.

"Of course not," Remus placated Sirius, casting him a sympathetic look while still somehow managing to roll his eyes at the same time. "Hi Lily," he added as an afterthought. "As interesting as Sirius's confunding theory is, I assume that's not the real reason you're here?"

James took the opportunity to stand next to her, once again throwing his arm around her shoulder. "Is it really that hard to believe that she's here with me?" he demanded, a broad grin on his face.

"Yes," chorused all three of the boys, smirking slightly.

"Me, on the other hand…" Sirius started, a smirk on his face, only to receive an elbow to his stomach from James. "Oi!"

Lily sighed. She knew this was going to be a bad idea. "I needed somewhere to sit, and Potter and I have decided to be civil toward one another," she said, noticing how Sirius' eyes shot towards her when he picked up that she wasn't going to be with Dale or the others. Lily, the only one who noticed his sudden change in demeanour, caught his eye, mouthing 'later' at him, to which he game a slight nod, the worried look still in his eyes.

"I think the correct term there is 'friends' Lily-kins" James said in a singsong voice, taking a seat next to Remus.

She narrowed her eyes. "We said we were going to _try._ Not that we actually are yet. And don't call me Lily-kins."

"She's got you there Prongs," Sirius laughed, joking once more, but Lily could see concealed worry still there. "And in honour of your _not _being confunded," he gestured widely with his hand to the seat next to him where is feet had once been, "You can sit next to me."

Lily looked around, and, after seeing that the seat next to him was indeed the only one left, she sat down, dodging the arm he stretched out, obviously intending to put it over her shoulders.

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Blimey Evans, you sure you're not under some kind of spell there?"

"Her eyes-" Peter began, obviously trying to replicate what Remus had said earlier, obviously in the hope of sounding intelligent.

Sirius flapped his hand impatiently, cutting him off. "Yes, yes, I know. Glazed over eyes. Got it the first time Wormtail."

Throughout the whole exchange, Lily couldn't help but notice James had been unusually quiet. She looked across at him, only to find him staring at her. Which was nothing new, but when she caught his eye he looked away swiftly, a faint pink tinge covering his cheeks. Lily blinked. Since when did he blush?

James coughed loudly, slouching down in his seat. "Has, err, the lunch trolley already been through? I'm starving."

Lily knew it was an attempt to cover up his whatever it was he was embarrassed about, and a bad one at that, but she had to admit that he had a point. She found herself quite hungry also, having not had time for breakfast. She stood back up, causing everyone's heads to swivel around to look at her.

"I'm going to dress into my robes – my trunks back at he other end. I can stop by the front and find out when the trolley's coming through, yeah?" She phrased it as a question, but was already half way to the door.

"You know you could always change in here Lily-bean," Sirius suggested, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Choosing not to dignify that with response, she walked the last few steps to the door. But not before hearing a muffled thump, and Sirius crying out, "Oi! What was that for? It was a bloody joke…"

Resisting the temptation to turn around and looking to see what James had done, she slipped out the door, only to run straight into someone coming the opposite direction, sending them both toppling to the ground.

"Sorry, my fault," she apologized, sitting up on the floor. "I should've been–" she cut off, finally getting a good look at the boy she knocked over. "Severus."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So I could appologize a hundred times, but it won't change the fact that I do not currently own a time-turner (yet) and I am unable to go back in time and force myself to stay dedicated to this story. Yet here I am, years later, with a new inspiration to continue this story. So yes, I DO plan on continuing this, and yes, I DO plan on finishing it. And I now also have a plan writen out for the whole story, so I have a plot line and I'm not just winging it anymore. Hopefully that will help with my comitment issues, yeah?**

**THE POINT: For previous readers of both _About Us_ and it's first-draft-I-had-no-idea-what-I-was-doing predeccesor, _Balance Beam, _please bare with both me and this story, and keep reading. For those new to About Us, welcome, and I hope I don't disappoint!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of Jk Rowling's wonderful work. Just the plot and a few OCs****

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><p>She just sat there for a full minute, just staring at him. In appearance he hadn't changed much since she had last seen him. He still had his shoulder length greasy black hair (the greasiness, he had confided in her during a rather emotional, and forced, talk a long while back after a particularly bad encounter with the marauders, was genetic, not from the lack of a shower), the same long hook nose and dark, almost black, eyes. She hadn't seen him over the summer, something she was both relieved and surprised of. They used to be best friends – he was the only one she knew when she first got to Hogwarts. Her first friend from the magical world. But he had ruined all that in fifth year. He had a called her…. well, it doesn't matter what he called her anymore. She had forgiven him for that. She knew she was too forgiving for her own good. That's what everyone had told her. But she wasn't stupid. She knew he might 'slip up' again. And even though she was no longer angry with him for that incident, she knew they couldn't be friends anymore. They were too different now. Their lives were going down two very different paths. She didn't even like to think where his was leading him, even though deep down she knew. And it was directly away from her.<p>

Yet she could tell he did look to some extent different. It was subtle, but she knew him well enough to know what to look for. He hadn't exactly looked healthy before, but it was more apparent now. His hair now hung limp, looking almost dead. He had large bags under his bloodshot eyes, and his normally baggy clothes hung off of him even more.

Maybe it was his obvious ill health that stopped the biting remark on her tongue. But she couldn't bring herself to say anything at first. He was apparently having the same problem, just sitting there staring at her. coming to her senses she quickly tucked her legs underneath her, standing up in a fluid motion.

She wasn't in the mood to deal with him today, not with everything that had happened already. their short conversations usually consisted of him trying to talk to her, and then her promptly telling him to go jump in the lake. Not unlike her conversations with James actually.

But looking at him now, she couldn't find it in her to say anything She almost asked if he was okay – before she remembered she couldn't do that. She couldn't worry about him anymore. But she did. She wouldn't tell anyone, but she worried about him constantly.

Her movement seemed to snap him out of his daze.

"Lily –" he began to say, hesitating a bit, at a loss for words once again.

She shook her head, giving him a sad smile. "Let's just… not today, alright?"

"No Lily, I'm tired of not saying anything! If you would just take a minute to talk to me…" he said quietly, brows furrowed together.

"I can't. I'm sorry, I am, but I just can't."

She started to walk away, only to be stopped by his hand shooting out and grabbing her arm. She froze, tensing up instantly.

"Let me go," she demanded in a flat voice. She did _not _need this right now. Not today. She tried to tug her arm away, but his grip tightened in a way she could only describe as desperate.

"Wait, Lily – just wait a minute!"

"What? What could possibly be so important!?" She demanded, twirling around to glare at him, her arm twisting a bit in the process.

His eyes darkened and his gaze shifted slightly to view the compartment behind her. "What were you doing in Potter's compartment?"

"Excuse me? That's what you wanted to say?!" she bit out, looking at him through wide eyes. "Do you really think that's any of your business anymore?"

"Just – just answer," he said, flinching slightly at the 'anymore.' "What were you doing in his compartment? He's no good Lily. You need to stay away from him." He was glaring at the floor now, refusing to meet her eyes.

She took advantage of his distraction to yank her arm out of his grasp, glaring at him. She took a step forward, so they were face to face, and she was struck with how much he had grown since they were kids. She was no longer taller than him like when they were children: in fact, he now towered over her. Some small place in the back of her mind wondered when he'd had this growth spurt, and how she had missed it.

"You have no jurisdiction in my life anymore," She told him, "You lost that right two years ago." She knew it was a low blow bringing up _that_ afternoon, but she also knew that it was a sure fire way to get him to leave her alone – he always shied away from that particular topic.

And it worked exactly as she had intended – he stepped away from her as if she had burned him.

Blinking rapidly, she pushed herself past him and walked forward determinedly, not turning when she heard him calling her name. Gazing strictly forward, she walked as fast as she could to her old, now empty, compartment.

When she finally reached it she practically ran inside, slamming the door shut behind her. What just happened, She thought. Sure, it wasn't their first argument, but he'd never been so determined to talk to her. She wondered what had changed. And then that bit about Potter! So what if she was in his compartment? It wasn't even as if they were alone! Besides, she thought angrily, he didn't have the right to make any input in her life anymore!

This day just keeps on getting better and better, she thought sarcastically as she took a deep breath. Somewhere in the middle of her rant, she had gotten changed into her robes, she realized.

But now she found herself faced with a dilemma. Should she go back to the Marauders' compartment? She had made her excuses to leave, and it wasn't like she was _obligated _to go back. But then again, there wasn't much time left until they arrived at Hogwarts, and she guessed, with a resigned sigh, that sitting with them _was_ better than sitting by herself. Besides, Dale had asked Lily in her letter to talk to Sirius, and as much as Lily didn't want to have _that_ conversation, she knew she couldn't deny her friend this.

As she neared the boys' compartment once more, she could hear the train slowing down slightly. Her heart sank. If she wanted to talk to Sirius, she had to do it now. Having reached the door, she hesitated for a moment, not sure if she should knock or not. Deciding on not, she slid it open and walked in to find all four boys shoving sweets into their mouths.

"You missed the trolley," Peter informed her straight away as he was dumping yet another box of beans into his ever-growing pile, apparently trying to make a (disastrous most likely) attempt to sort out the good flavors.

"That's alright," she said, waving it off airily, "I wasn't too hungry anyways." That was a lie. She _had_ been hungry, but the thought of what she had to do next had fixed that for her straight away. She avoided James' look of concern and instead turned to Sirius. "Err… can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked. "Alone?"

A look of understanding formed on his face and he stood up, gesturing her to lead the way out of the compartment and away from the curious stares of his friends. The only one in the compartment who didn't look confused was James, who, Lily supposed, knew Sirius almost as well as he knew himself, therefore probably guessing the reason Lily was pulling him away.

She led him out into the corridor and quickly found an empty compartment. There seemed to be a lot of those this year.

"Where's Dale?" Sirius demanded as soon as the compartment door slid to a close. "Is she alright?"

Lily wordlessly pulled the letter out of her pocket, handing it over to him. She had decided this to be the best way to tell him: maybe he could understand Dale's reasons better if he was able to read her words for himself.

She watched as his face flickered through several different emotions throughout the reading. When he finally finished his face was carefully wiped blank. The only thing that gave away any hint of emotion was the fist that had formed around the piece of parchment he was holding.

"DAMN IT!" he yelled out suddenly, spinning around to throw his fist against the wall with a resounding 'crack'. Unclenching said fist, he lay his hand flat against the wall, resting his forehead above it.

Lily stepped forward, gently pulling him from the wall and wrapping her arms around him. "I know," she murmured quietly. "I know."

After a moments hesitation he brought his arms up around her gratefully, pulling her tight to him while he tried to control his breathing. Regardless of how much they fought, she really was like a sister to him, and she found herself with a soft spot for him as well, however much she tried to dislike him.

The clearing of a throat brought them to pull apart, turning towards the door, which now held a fuming James Potter. "Interrupting am I?" he sneered, glaring at Sirius.

Sirius sighed before taking a step towards James. "Mate, it's not-"

"The hell it isn't! don't try and talk yourself out of this one Black, I saw you! "And here I thought Evans was going to talk to you about Dale – or have you forgotten about her already have you?"

"James," Lily interrupted, trying to get him to see sense. "We weren't-"

"You're out of line, mate," Sirius interrupted, his voice dangerously low at the mention of Dale.

"Really?" James scoffed, glaring at his best mate, "because it sure looked like-"

SMACK. James stopped talking and slowly reached his hand up to the cheek that the enraged red head before him had struck.

"Bloody hell…" Sirius muttered, glancing down at Lily and seeing the fire in her eyes.

"How dare you!" Lily cried, pushing James roughly in the chest, yet only to add to her anger, he didn't budge an inch.

"ME? what-"

"Yes you! How-"

"How did you think I'd react, walking in here to see you shacking up with my best mate! I-"

SMACK.

"Bloody hell…."

"How dare you!" Lily cried again. "I was _hugging_ him. And I don't even have to explain myself to you, but since you seem to be under the delusion that you have some barbaric claim on me I will! It's called a hug. Something that friends give each other to show comfort. Comfort Potter," she bit out, "Because Dale's gone. I don't know where, my best friend, your best mate's girlfriend! And you stand there, accusing me of _shacking up with him?!"_

By now James' face had lost all of it's color and he was staring at her in shock. "Lily, I-"

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," She told him coldly. "You know, I spent all day trying to figure out if you really have changed. I guess I have my answer." And with that she pushed her way past his horror-struck face before rushing to join the crowd spilling off the now-stopped train, ignoring the attempt he made to call out to her.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Short, I know, and not very good, but I should have another chapter up tomorrow, and it should be about 10 times better, so don't fret! Read and review :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of Jk Rowling's wonderful work. Just the plot and a few OCs**

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><p>The carriage ride to the castle passed far too quickly for Lily's liking, she found herself seating with Hufflepuff's Alice Prewitt , a sweet, slightly round faced girl who was entering her 5th year, along with her boyfriend Frank Longbottom, who like Lily was in his 7th year. Lily found herself exiting the carriage slowly, taking the time to look up at the brightly lit castle in awe for a couple seconds, for the first time in months, feeling peaceful: feeling like she was home.<p>

Her peace didn't last for long, however, as it was soon interrupted by a sharp jab in her back.

"Oi, I'm hungry!" A voice whined, "why are you just standing there?"

Lily spun around quickly, turning to see the grinning face of Marlene McKinnon, processing only for a second before tackling her friend in a massive hug.

"You're here!" Lily cried into Marlene's hair, "I was so worried!"

Marlene laughed, patting her friend softly on the back, "And miss all you're James Potter drama? Which you need to catch me up on: fighting already Lil? Never!"

Lily rolled her eyes and pulled away from Marlene (who of _course_ would have heard of her and Potters latest fight within_ minutes_ of the carriages arriving), only to see the third member of the quartet (the fourth being Dale), standing off to the side, grinning just as broadly as Marlene.

Cassie held her arms open to Lily, "What about me? Do I not get one of the famous Lily Evans' hugs?"

"Cass!" Lily yelled, pulling away from Marlene to grab onto Cassie, who squeezed her back just as tight, saying as she did so, "We're sorry you were worried- we wanted to send you a letter while you were on the train to explain-"

"But our parents wouldn't let us, security and all that," Marlene interrupted. "Our parents arrived at Hogwarts to speak to Professor Dumbledore before term started and insisted we just travel with them," She lowered her voice as she leaned in a little, "It was Order business."

Lily, who already knew of the Order of the Phoenix from her two friends before her, simply nodded with an understanding smile on her face.

Cassie and Marlene, noticing the slightly melancholy look on their friend's face, exchanged quick mischievous glances before they each grabbed one of Lily's arms, effectively dragging her toward the castle, both ignoring her shrieks.

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><p>Lily sank into her four-poster bed at the top of Gryffindor tower gratefully, letting out an exhausted sigh. Cassie, who was on the bed next to hers, laughed at her dramatics. Lily turned her head towards her, scrunching up her face.<p>

"It's not funny! Do you know how many times I had to stop on the way up here to convince half of the first years that no, they weren't going crazy, the portraits are _supposed _to talk to them!?" Cassie just laughed harder, prompting Lily to continue. "Nine. Nine times! And then there was the other half who thought it would be funny to push the others onto stairs that were already moving, so we had to stop and wait for either the stair to come back, or find them a different way back to the group! And of course," she continued, getting slightly louder with each word, attracting the attention of Marlene, who stepped out of the bathroom to listen. "_Potter_ was no help! The opposite actually! He thought the whole thing was hilarious! Each time a student got trapped on the stairs, he gave the culprits high fives. He _congratulated _them!" she finished the whole thing in a huff, her eyes wide.

"You gotta admit Lils, it was rather funny," Marlene reasoned, smirking. "Frankly I'm just surprised that no one else has done it before."

"And by no one, she means the Marauders," Cassie laughed.

Lily turned up her face at this, trying to hide her smile. "Maybe because it was just so _immature-_ who am I kidding," she cut herself off, "Immature? Yes then, I'm surprised the Marauders haven't done it yet either." the fact that a group of first years had come up with a prank that the marauders had never done before, on their first day at Hogwarts, cheered her up slightly. Maybe this group of students could deflate their ego a little. If that was even possible.

They talked about the feast for a while – mainly about Dumbledore's new hat ("It was orange! Did you see it? Orange!"), and Marie Higgins of Hufflepuff's new boyfriend ("I swear she has a new one every 2 weeks! And Paul Revers? I thought he was better than that!"). They were just starting into talking about the classes they wanted for the year when the door to the dormitory burst open dramatically.

Of course, they always did like a dramatic entrance, Lily thought, as the final two of the Gryffindor 7th years walked into the room. Janet, the more outspoken of the two, her usually straight long black hair curled into loose curls around her face. She was pretty, Lily admitted, but the constant sneer on her face- a sneer worthy of Slytherin, Lily often thought- took away from her beauty. The girl next to her, Talia, had blonde hair. Hers too was curled, but was visibly shorter than Janet's. Lily really didn't see the point of messing with her hair – it never lasted long enough anyways – why take so much time for something that'll be gone the next day? No, she thought, she had much more practical things to do with her time.

Janet looked over the room before huffing loudly. "I thought you'd have your own dorm Lily? What are you still doing here?" she whined, glaring at Lily.

Lily narrowed her eyes immediately; she was used to this kind of stuff from Janet and Talia: the pair had hated her from day one at Hogwarts.

"Yes, actually, I do have my own dorm. Or at least I will. It's being finished up. apparently this is the first time in years two Gryffindors have been the heads of the school," Lily finished rather proudly.

"Yeah, if only it wasn't Potter," Cassie snickered.

"Well personally I think James is the only _sensible_ choice. At least he has _friends._ And the sooner you can stay there the better." Janet snapped, glaring at Lily and Cassie.

"She obviously does has friends, they're sitting right in front of you!" Marlene cried angrily, entering into the argument. "Besides," she added with an upturned nose, "She certainly has more than the two of you."

"She's just sore that James likes you and not her Lily," Cassie whispered to the whole room amid Janet's angry spluttering.

"He doesn't though," Janet insisted. "Anyone can see he clearly likes me!"

Lily laughed loudly at this. While she _really_ didn't want to get on the topic of James Potter obsession with her – Janet's comment was too good to pass up.

"Is that why he never talks to you? It all makes sense now! I understand!" she cried, throwing her hands up. "Now I'm going to bed. And unless you want to see just why I'm so good at charms and jinxes, I'd suggest you don't continue to talk and bother me," Lily replied, turning her back on her, so she was facing Cassie and Marlene. She grinned at them and winked, while they both tried (unsuccessfully) to smother the laughter at the look on Janet's face.

"Night Lily, Marlene," Cassie said, recovering from laughing first, laying down into her bed, Marlene doing the same from across the room.

Lily followed suit, casting a sly look in Janet and Talia's direction as they worked on unpacking their trunks, before pointing her wand at the lights in the room, putting them all out suddenly. "Good night Janet," she said sweetly.

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><p><strong>Review?<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Here's another chapter, sorry it's late! It's still beginning, but apoorvam77, hope you like this one!**

****Disclaimer: I don't own any of Jk Rowling's wonderful work. Just the plot and a few OCs****

The next morning Lily woke with a start; she had slept fitfully, nightmares chasing her the whole night. They were, she noticed, getting more and more frequent. And they weren't random nightmares either: they always followed a pattern. The same small white house, the same hauntingly red eyes that she could never attach to a body. Just the eyes, staring into a source she could never seem to locate. Needless to say, it was a little unnerving. But like she said, they were becoming more and more common. Therefore, she was getting better and better at shaking them off, storing them into the back of her mind. Which is exactly what she was planning on doing, because it was, after all, her first day back at Hogwarts: she wouldn't let anything get in the way of her perfect year.

The Great Hall was buzzing with activity, students running from table to table exchanging schedules. The Slytherin table was an obvious exception to this, and by the way all the other students would skirt around it when passing, it looked like they almost had an invisible shield around them, setting them off from the rest of the school. An invisible shield that might just be very real, Lily thought: she wouldn't put it past the Slytherins. She hadn't thought of what the house to house relations would be like this year. To say that Gryffindor and Slytherin hadn't gotten along before would be an understatement, but Slytherin never seemed to have a problem with Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, and vice versa. But she should have expected it.

The dark wizard Voldemort had been terrorizing the wizarding community: Where he started out as a small time rebel, no one really would be bothered to worry about him. After all, people like him always showed up once in a while. They could either be talked out of it by the Ministry, or they'd just get carted off to Azkaban straight away. Except while he may have started out like the others, something was different about him. For one, they hadn't caught him yet. It'd been about a year since his name first seeped into the prophet, gaining more and more attention as time went on. And if that wasn't alarming enough, he was gaining supporters rapidly. All in all it was becoming a horrifying situation. While at first he was all talk, over the past year his "reign" as many had taken to calling it, had taken a violent turn to violent measures of the likes no one had been prepared for, or even encountered before now. And it wasn't just the odd death or disappearance here and there – mass killings, sometimes whole muggle towns would be destroyed, left in burning ruins throughout the country. In response there were rumors- rumors Lily knew to be true- about Dumbledore having started up a resistance in response to Voldemort: the Order of the Phoenix. Needless to say in all of this, the Slytherins had made it quite clear which side they were on, effectively cutting them off from the rest of the school.

Lily sighed wearily: she was not looking forward to dealing with the Slytherins as Head Girl: that just added so much more pressure to her already difficult job.

"Lily!" a voice called out, effectively jarring her from her inner musings. Probably a good thing too, she thought wryly, as she crossed the hall towards Cassie, who had been the one to call out to her, she'd always been told she overanalyzed things.

"Morning," she placed a smile on her face as she reached Cassie and Marlene at the Gryffindor table, the latter of the whom looking barely awake as she gazed tiredly down at her toast and eggs. Lily laughed, sliding into the bench across from them. "Someone's tired," she joked, waving her hand in front of Marlene's face, who jumped slightly at the sudden movement. Once she had gotten her bearings, she gave Lily a quick glare, groaning and pushing her plate aside.

"How can you be so bloody chipper in the morning?" she accused, dropping her head to rest on her arms. "It's not natural."

Both Cassie and Lily laughed at her antics, and Cassie was just opening her mouth to reply when a certain Sirius Black dropped into the seat next to Lily, grinning widely and lazily throwing an arm over her shoulder (which was promptly thrown off with an indignant huff).

"And how are you ladies this bright and early morning?" he drawled, eyeing Marlene in interest. "Whadya' do to Marleney here?"

"Marlene, Black," Marlene growled, but she still had not lifted her head from her arms, so it had came out rather garbled. She sighed, giving in, and answering him. "Not enough sleep. And how are you not tired," she looked up, eyeing him accusingly. "Because I _know_ you wouldn't have gone to bed early."

Sirius waggled his eyebrows at her, a goofy grin on his face. "What would you know of my habits in bed Leney-poo?"

Lily groaned, really, it was too early in the morning for have to deal with Sirius and Marlene's antics. "OY!" she cried, as a piece of toast hit her squarely in the face, causing both Cassie and Sirius erupted into laughter.

Marlene looked at her sheepishly, "Sorry Lily, honest, I was aiming for Sirius…"

"Sirius, are you getting eggs thrown at you again?" A new voice asked, the owner of which promptly sat himself on the other side of Lily, eying her warily to see her reaction.

Lily in turn eyed him back, glancing between him and Sirius: obviously their fight from the previous night had been resolved. Not that she was surprised: wherever Black went, Potter was not far behind. And vice versa. They were as close as brothers. What Lily wasn't sure of, however, was if she herself wanted to forgive him for his assumptions. Thinking back to her earlier thoughts on the war, and on the Slytherins, Lily grudgingly decided that she should at least _try_ to get along with him this year. He was her co-head, and with all the turmoil in the school – as much as she didn't want to admit it – she'd probably need his help keeping order. As long as he doesn't act like a git again, she added on.

"Toast, actually," she answered him, surprising everyone at the table. It was her way of a peace offering – of letting him know that if Sirius was willing to forget the previous night then she – in spirit of co-heads, she told herself sternly, would be as well.

Marlene, being the first to recover from the shock of Lily addressing James in a non-hostile manner, broke the silence with a laugh, turning back to Sirius. "So getting food thrown at you is a common occurrence?"

Sirius grinned, not at all embarrassed by this revelation. "I prefer the toast though," she said, winking at her, "the eggs are just messy. Plus," he added, picking up said toast which had fallen in front of Lily, "I can eat the toast after."

Whatever Marlene's reply was going to say was interrupted, as Professor McGonagall reached their table, handing them their time tables.

"What class do you all have first?" Remus, who had arrived shortly after McGonagall left, already bearing his very own list, inquired to the group in general.

"Double Potions," Lily replied with a grin.

James groaned. "You're probably the only one in the school who would actually be excited for that."

Lily glared at him, and choosing not to say anything, she grabbed Cassie and Marlene's arms', dragging them with her towards the dungeons. "Please, remind me why I have to be nice to him again?" she questioned as soon as they were out of earshot of the boys.

Marlene giggled and Cassie gave Lily a questioning look. "So I noticed. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"It's because she looooooves him!" Marlene sang, dodging Lily's arm swinging in her direction.

"Whether I like it or not he's the head boy this year. And until Dumbledore comes to his senses and realizes what a complete and utter _mistake_ –" she broke off after a nudge in the ribs from Cassie. "Err… right. Well I reckon I'll have to actually spend time with him – get your mind out of the gutter Marlene, I didn't mean _like that_ and you know it – and I don't want to have to do all the head duties by myself. I figure that if we stopped fighting so much we can get the head stuff done quickly, with as little time spent together as possible."

Marlene and Cassie exchanged looks. "Well… I guess it's a start… sorta," Marlene said.

"And," Cassie chimed in, "You just answered your own question."

Lily laughed, once more looping her arms through theirs. "I guess I did."

The three girls entered the dungeon and with Lily's insistence, took seats at a table near at the front of the room. It wasn't necessarily the teacher that Lily liked, although Professor Slughorn seemed to favor her a great deal, she actually found him to be quite a nutter. Be that as it may, Potions, along with Charms, was her best class: the whole thing seemed to come quite easily to her, which as a muggleborn gave her a feeling of justification that she did indeed belong there.

"What do you reckon's in there?" Marlene whispered in interest, leaning forward in her seat to try and get a better look at the potion-filled cauldron sitting on Slughorn's desk in front of them.

Lily laughed, reaching across Cassie to pull Marlene back into her seat. "It's Veritaserum."

Marlene's eyes widened, and she finally tore her gaze away from the clear, bubbling potion to look at Lily. "How do you know that?" she accused with a fake glare. "Why is it, that you _always_ know what _everything _is?" she demanded. "Give us normal folk a chance here!"

Lily laughed, "Of course I don't know everything! Cassie knew what it was also… right Cass?" She finished, looking over at Cassie for support.

Cassie gave Marlene an apologetic smile, nodding her head to affirm Lily's statement.

"You too! What's happening with everyone!" Marlene cried dramatically, throwing her hands up in the air.

Lily giggled, with a look exchanged with Cassie, she decided to fill Marlene in. "Marlene… sweetie… we studied _and_ made it last year in this class."

Marlene lowered her hands slowly, appearing deep in thought. "Oh," she said after a pause. "I remember that. Difficult potion that was."

"I wonder why it's out here? If we've already made it?" Cassie wondered aloud. "I mean, it's not like we'd be doing it for a warm-up. It's a complicated potion: it takes months to finish it."

"That's a good point," Lily said with a frown. And it was true: making this potion again would take up too much of the class for the year: they wouldn't have time to get through all of the new N.E.W.T. potions they'd have to learn. A sudden thought struck Lily, making her frown deeper. She knew all the teachers here were getting more and more concerned with Voldemort's rising power. Could this be anything to do with that? But she had to admit it was unlikely- for one, she'd never pegged Slughorn for the type of person who would join the sort of thing like the Order. He always preferred to let other people, people he had gotten close to, (hence the "Slug Club") do the fighting, while after it was all done and over with he'd claim the credit for teaching them 'everything they know.' Tonight, Lily thought, suddenly determined. I'll find answers tonight. There's something about this that doesn't feel right. She didn't know what she was going to have to look for, but her mind was set, and when Lily Evans sets her mind to do something, she does it. No questions asked.

"Uh oh," James said, as he, Sirius and Remus sat down at the table behind the girls. "Evans has that look on her face; should we be worried? Who's getting hexed?" He said it in a joking manner, yet when Lily looked up at him, he looked genuinely curious. And maybe a little bit concerned too.

His comment, of course, caused everyone else to look at Lily in curiosity.

Cassie gave a nervous chuckled, looking at Lily's face. "Everything okay Lils? The last time I saw you with that look was after Cale Windington tried to grope you in the owlry, and you were planning to slip a potion into his pumpkin juice. Which you actually did shortly after I saw you."

Marlene laughed at the memory giving Lily an affectionate nudge. "I remember that one! Wasn't that the potion that made him convinced he was a Mongolian belly dancer? That was brilliant, that was."

"Hold on!" James yelled, making them jump, and everyone else in the dungeon look over at them curiously. "He did _what?_" By that time James had half-risen from his seat, looking as determined as Lily had been moments ago; exceptunlike her he had a fierce scowl on his face, as he turned towards the entrance to the classroom.

Sirius grabbed a hold of his sleeve, pulling him back down into his seat with a roll of his eyes. "Calm down mate."

Lily gave him a small smile. As much as she detested him, even she had to admit that it was sort of sweet the way he had gotten so angry in her defence. "Calm down Potter," she sighed, giving him a stern look. "It's over and done with, and I already took care of it," she said, while the others giggled at the memory of Cale's strange potion-induced behavior. "And I'm fine," she added, turning towards Cassie. "I was just thinking of what they're going to be serving for lunch," she lied as convincingly as she could.

Luckily everyone seemed to believe her, as they all let the subject drop, instead talking about the upcoming quidditch season: a conversation led of course, largely by Sirius and Marlene. The two, along with James, had been on the team since their second year. They were in the middle of talking about who the new Ravenclaw captain was when a piece of paper landed softly in Lily's lap.

_ I don't believe you._

_ -J_

Lily turned around in her seat to see James giving her a long, searching look, but luckily he didn't say anything. She just shook her head at him, silently asking him not to bring it up again. He have a slight nod in response, which surprised her: did he actually just listen to her?

"Hey!" Sirius's shout filled the dungeon, causing everyone to once again look over. He pointed at the cauldron on top of Slughorn's desk. "What kinda potion is that do you reckon?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of Jk Rowling's wonderful work. Just the plot and a few OCs**

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><p>The Gryffindors walked out of the Potions classroom, all of them wearing a slight frown. For Sirius it was because Slughorn had tried (once again unsuccessfully) to recruit him to the "Slugclub", while Remus' was because his potion hadn't turned out correctly. Marlene's potion didn't even turn out at all: it had exploded. All over Cassie. James could've done fine with the potion, but he had been too busy watching Lily, trying to figure out what she had been upset about when he had first walked into the classroom, so he had ended the class turning in some pretty sloppy work. And one of the Marauders saying something was sloppy (besides Remus), meant that it must have been <em>really<em> sloppy.

Lily herself was deep in thought as they walked to their next class: Ancient Ruins. Her original hope that Slughorn might explain why the Veritaserum was on his desk was dashed as soon as class had started. Upon entering the room, Slughorn had rushed over to his desk (as fast as a man his size could rush), promptly placing the cauldron in one of the many drawers, hiding it completely from the students' view. Lily didn't know why, but she had a weird feeling about that cauldron and the potion it contained.

So lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed how James had been nudging or tugging on her arm to get her to make the right turns in the corridors. She would have just kept going in a straight line without his interference. A straight line right into a wall. She finally tore herself out of her thoughts when she reached her next classroom, and looking around she was surprised to find everyone had left, off to their own separate classes. Everyone but James, that is. She looked over at him, confused.

"Err… Potter?" she asked tentatively. "Didn't you say you had Care of Magical Creatures next? In the opposite direction?"

He just shrugged, looking straight ahead instead of at her. "Someone had to make sure you got here." He gave a nervous chuckle and ran a hand through his hair, trying to appear nonchalant.

Lily looked up at him, oddly touched. "You could have just told me to snap out of it," she told him quietly. She frowned. "My mind wanders off too much."

He turned to look at her then, a slight smile on his face. "It's good to think things out. If you just let it sit in your head it'll be that much worse when you finally come across it again. Not to mention to find it again you'll have to sort through all the other thoughts you've pushed aside and stored."

Lily blinked, shocked. It was almost as if he knew about her frequent nightmares that she had been having. What he said was actually… mature? She certainly didn't think that she'd be using that word in regards to him any time soon… but it seemed as thought he proved her wrong.

"I suppose you're right," she said, giving him a small smile that which he was quick to return. "Thank you. Really."

He leaned easily back against the wall next to her. "You almost walked into a wall," he told her, grinning.

Lily laughed, feeling the blood rush up into her cheeks, coloring them a soft red. "You need to get to class James, I've made you late enough already," she said, trying to cover up her unexplained blush.

He laughed and turned around to head back down the corridor, a broad grin on his face, not wanting to push his luck. She had called him James! That was the only thought running through his mind at the moment. They'd had a conversation, with no yelling, cursing, or hexing involved! And she'd called him James!

Partway down the corner, he turned around to see her still watching. "Worth it," he called out to her, his already wide smile just broadening when he saw the blush heat up her cheeks again. Merlin, she's beautiful, he thought. Maybe this year won't be so bad after all.

…...

The rest of the day passed slowly, as only first days of school could. Before long the students of Hogwarts found themselves all seated in the Great Hall, half of them complaining loudly about their classes, the other half still tired from their early awakening, and chose to simply wait for dinner in near silence. Or at least that's how it happened most years at this time. When the students didn't have something more important to focus on. This year, excluding the first years, the whole of the student body was staring at one James Potter and Lily Evans.

Lily sighed, slumping down at the table gratefully. Where she usually liked school very much, whoever said their last year would be a breeze ought to have their head checked, she thought miserably. What kind of teachers give homework on the first day of school? Looking around her the Marauders, Cassie, and Marlene were sitting much the same as she was, looking utterly exhausted. While she was looking around, something else caught her eye. _Many_ something else's.

"Everyone's staring," she whispered, slouching down into her seat even more. "Why is everyone staring?"

When no one answered her, she looked around curiously, noting that none of her classmates around her seemed able to look her in the eye. Frowning, she turned to look at James, relatively sure that she could at least get him to tell her what everyone else seemed unable to. She lifted her eyebrows expectantly at him once she caught his eye. But he looked, surprisingly, just as out of the loop as she herself was. But, unlike Lily, he didn't seem at all concerned by it. Being a Marauder, she supposed, must have made him immune to all the stares: he probably _enjoyed_ it, she supposed.

Lily sighed in frustration, turning towards the others. "Cass? Marlene?" If she was hoping for answers from them, she was disappointed. Cassie just giggled, suddenly very intent on her mashed potatoes. Marlene chose to ignore her completely, striking up a loud conversation with Meg Peters from Ravenclaw, who was at that moment passing the Gryffindor table.

Scowling at her two friends, she turned toward the remaining Marauders, the ones who always knew what was going on. Mostly, she conceded, that was because they were the ones who were causing the disturbance.

"Sirius," she demanded, glaring at his innocent (obviously fake) look. "Why is everyone staring?"

He grinned at her, shaking his head pityingly at her. "Don't know what you're talking about Evans."

Well, Lily thought, it's obvious that no one wants to tell me. she shook her head, grimacing,: it's time for desperate measures. She looked over at Peter, who unlike Cassie's fake interest, seemed genuinely fascinated with his potatoes.

"Peter?" she asked softly, laying her hand gently over his, trying not to recoil at the sweat covering it. "You'll tell me what's going on, right?" she batted her eyelashes for extra effect, feeling slightly ridiculous, but somewhat sure that it was working.

Peter, who promptly turned a bright red the second her hand touched his, blurted out without hesitation: "There's a betting pool on how long it will be until you try and curse James!"

His announcement was followed by several loud groans from the occupants of the table, and Sirius leaned across the table to smack Peter across his head, muttering a 'bloody hormonal fool' under his breath. Lily, who had snatched her hand back as soon as Peter had spoken (and was now resisting the urge to wipe her hand on her robes) turned and glared at the students in the hall who were watching them avidly.

_"People,"_ she stressed, looking pointedly at her friends, who had the decency to at least look somewhat repentant, "should mind their own bloody business," she finished, raising her voice at the end, hoping some of the people would get the point. Most of the Gryffindors had heard her, and after a few awkward laughs, turned away and went back to their meals. The rest of the hall unfortunately, wasn't so easily swayed.

Groaning again, Lily once again slumped down in her seat, glaring down at her plate. James, who had yet to say anything as he had been watching Lily's reaction to the whole thing, shook his head and stood up, stepping up so he was standing atop of the table.

Lily's eyes widened, and she exchanged shocked glances with Cassie and Marlene. Sirius, she noted, did nothing more but snort loudly before going back to shoving food in his mouth.

Once he was sure he had the entire hall's attention, he yelled out, voice carrying to the corners of the hall.

"Oi! You lot! Get back to your food or receive a Marauders' welcome back to Hogwarts!" immediately the majority of the hall averted their gazes' and returned to their food. James, with a satisfied grin, got down of the table and calmly resumed his seat, ignoring the glares directed his way from Professor McGonagall. "There you go Lily," He added, in a normal tone of voice, grinning at her cheekily.

Shaking off the remnants of her shock, Lily glanced around her to see that indeed, no one was looking at her any longer. It was a relief, to say the least, she thought. "Err… thanks," she said, smiling slightly up at him, relieved to have all of the eyes averted.

Sirius snorted into his pudding, chuckling. "Now you've done it Evans," he said, gesturing grandly around him.

Lily turned in her seat to find that almost every eye in the Great Hall was, once again, on her. "What?" she cried, "What did I do?" she turned towards the marauders and her friends, all of whom were now laughing.

"They were all expecting you to yell at me, love," James said, as it seemed everyone else was too busy laughing to answer.

"Don't call me that!" She snapped at him. "And if it's that amusing to you, maybe I _should_ hex you!"

This of course stopped James' laughter immediately and he held up his hands in defense. "Don't shoot the messenger Lils."

She just groaned in response, burying her head in her arms, only flinching slightly when she felt James lay his hand on her shoulder, and even allowed it to stay there for several moments before she shook it off, standing up and announcing that she was going to head back up to the dorms.

Marlene looked back and forth between her friends including James whose eyes were glued to Lily's back, watching her retreating figure, and the still obviously gawking students, and muttered awkwardly, "Errr… anyone want more potatoes?"

**A/N: Reviews give me motivation :)**


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